🛁 Chlorine Spa Start-Up & Weekly Maintenance Guide

Start your spa off right with balanced, comfortable water — and keep it that way all season long with our simple, step-by-step care plan. If you have an Arctic Spa with Spa Boy or Onzen, please visit our Salt Spa Start-Up & Weekly Maintenance Guide.

🔄 Start-Up Procedure

1. Soften Your Water

• Before filling your spa, test your source water at Premier Pool & Spa.

• Recommended calcium hardness range: 100–200 ppm

• If calcium is above 200 ppm, use partial soft water from inside your home.

• ❌ Do not fill the spa entirely with soft water. Calcium hardness should not drop below 75 ppm.
  If you do, you’ll need to add Calcium Hardness Increaser.

2. Balance pH & Alkalinity

• Once the spa is filled and heated to at least 85°F, test your water:

  • Alkalinity Range: 20–120 ppm

  • pH Range: 7.2–7.8

If pH or Alkalinity is too high:

• Turn on all pumps and open one air diverter.

• Add ¼ cup of Spa Down.

• Wait 30 minutes, test again, and re-dose if needed.

• If alkalinity is within range but pH remains high, continue adding 1 tbsp Spa Down every 30 minutes until it stabilizes.

💡 Most customers use 1.5–2 bottles of Spa Down on a fresh fill.

If Alkalinity is too low:

• Add 1 tbsp of Alkalinity Increaser

If pH is too low:

• Add 1 tsp of pH Increaser

Or top off the spa with fresh water to raise both pH & alkalinity levels slightly.

3. Lock in Your Alkalinity

• Once both pH and alkalinity are in range after 3 consistent test results, add:

  • ½ bottle of Simply Soft

• This product will:

  • Lock in your alkalinity

  • Stabilize pH

  • Soften water

  • Improve water clarity and bather comfort

  • Reduce skin & eye irritation

  • Prevent scale formation

4. Establish Sanitizer Levels

(Free Chlorine or Bromine)

• With the pumps running, add 1 tbsp of Chlorine Concentrate

  • Aim for an FCl reading of 1–5 ppm

• Test with strips or bring a sample to Premier Pool & Spa for confirmation

• Leave the cover off for 30 minutes after adding chlorine or shock
  🔄 This allows oxidized contaminants to escape the water properly.

📆 Weekly Spa Maintenance

1. Test & Adjust pH and Alkalinity
   Use tbsp or tdp doses of increaser or decreaser as needed.

2. Test Chlorine or Bromine

   • If below 1 ppm, add 1 tbsp of Chlorine Concentrate

3. Add Weekly Maintenance Products (if needed):

   • Enzymes

   • Stain & Scale Control

   • Unique Clarifier

   • Water Clarifier

   • Scum Balls (for oily water)

     • These reusable floaters absorb 40x their weight in oils & lotions

     • Replace or clean after 30 days or when saturated

4. Shock After Heavy Use

   • Add 1 tbsp of shock

   • Leave cover open for 30 minutes to off-gas contaminants

   • Recommended after every other use, or immediately after large groups or long soaks

💡 Pro Tips:

• Regular testing = better water, longer equipment life, and less chemical waste

• Visit us anytime with a water sample — we’ll test and guide you, free of charge

• Shop all your spa needs online at premierpools.com

Need help getting started?
📞 Contact us or stop by your nearest Premier Pool & Spa showroom. Our team is happy to help!